St Matthew's SMSC
SMSC stands for Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural education. This is not a separate subject that is taught explicitly. At St Matthew's, SMSC is an integral part of our curriculum. Key drivers for SMSC are our PSHE, Collective Worship and RE lessons however, at St Matthew's it permeates all that we do.
SMSC refers to the personal development of our pupils, encompassing their spiritual, moral, social, and cultural awareness. This includes their sense of self, their relationships with others, their appreciation of the world around them, and their understanding of different cultures and values.
By focusing on SMSC, we aim to help our pupils develop a strong sense of identity and purpose, and to equip them with the skills they need to navigate the complex and rapidly changing world around them. Through engaging with a variety of moral and ethical dilemmas, our pupils will be challenged to think critically and creatively, and to consider the perspectives of others.
We believe that SMSC is essential for our pupils’ personal and academic success, and we are committed to providing opportunities for them to develop these skills and values not just through our curriculum but also our extracurricular activities, and community projects.
Ofsted's Definition of SMSC
Spiritual development is shown by their:
- beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s feelings and values
- sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, including the intangible
- use of imagination and creativity in their learning
- willingness to reflect on their experiences
Moral development is shown by their:
- ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and their readiness to apply this understanding in their own lives
- understanding of the consequences of their actions
- interest in investigating, and offering reasoned views about, moral and ethical issues
Social development is shown by their:
- use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
- willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively
- interest in, and understanding of, the way communities and societies function at a variety of levels
Cultural development is shown by their:
- understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage
- willingness to participate in, and respond to, for example, artistic, musical, sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and cultural opportunities
- interest in exploring, understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.
Through our SMSC provision we:
- Enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England
- Encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely
- Enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England
- Further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect their own and other cultures
- Encourage respect for other people
- Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect on the basis on which the law is made and applied in England
Links with the Wider Community
- Visitors are welcomed into our school
- Excellent links with St Matthew's and St Stephen's churches
- Visits to places of worship of other faiths are arranged to support the understanding of different cultures
- Annual inter-faith work inviting representatives from a range of faiths into school
- The school supports the work of a variety of charities
- The development of a strong home-school agreement is regarded as very important, enabling parents and teachers to work in an effective partnership to support the children
- Children are taught to appreciate and take responsibility for their local environment
- Liaison with local secondary schools to support the primary curriculum and effective transition, takes place regularly
Picture News Collective Worship
Picture News is used each week during Collective Worship. A current news story from around the world is explored through an image, a thought provoking question and a variety of teaching resources. Picture News develops the children’s respect for others beliefs, feelings and faiths.
Each week links are made between the news story, a British Value, a Protected Characteristics and UN Rights of the Child.
